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Studies of papulopustular rosacea patients show increased incidence of demodex mite infestation, and when present, mite density in the follicles is increased compared with controls. The Demodex folliculorum mite lives head-down in the follicle, where it feeds on sebum, shed skin cells, and other co-inhabitants of the infested follicle. A causal relationship of demodex to papules, pustules, and other skin manifestations of rosacea has not been proved. Ivermectin kills some parasites, so investigators studied whether topical ivermectin might reduce rosacea papules and pustules in two phase III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, vehicle-controlled studies with identical protocols.
A total of 683 patients with moderate-to-se…